The present invention relates to a dental implant system that includes an implant and an abutment. The implant has internal Morse-tapered walls and the abutment has an external hex for indexing prostheses and exterior Morse tapered walls to reduce the risk of abutment loosening.
Dental implants are embedded in the jaw bone and serve to anchor one or more artificial teeth, or prostheses. Initially the implant is secured within the jaw bone, then the artificial tooth is anchored to the implant. Typically, the artificial tooth is inserted in a multi-step process that includes initially attaching an abutment to the implant, and then cementing a crown on the abutment.
Because the artificial tooth must be in a specific alignment within the mouth to be consistent with the other teeth, it is beneficial to have a reference on the implant against which the artificial tooth can be keyed or aligned. Ideally, once the artificial tooth is keyed to the reference of the implant, the tooth will not be able to reorient itself within the mouth during common use. However, clinical studies have shown that even with a reference on the implant the commonly used straight wall abutment can rotate slightly, thereby allowing the prosthesis to become misaligned. Thus, it would be beneficial to have a dental implant that could index the prosthesis with little probability that the implant or abutment would rotate after positioning in the mouth.
The present invention relates to a dental implant system having an implant with an hexagonal reference post against which a prosthesis can be keyed and a Morse-tapered cavity wall, and having an abutment adapted to coordinate with the implant cavity wall and that can be indexed relative to the implant and that has a Morse tapered external wall. The abutment fits within the implant with the external wall of the abutment mating with the cavity wall of the implant, and is aligned with the hexagonal post of the implant or the adapter. The prosthesis is then secured to the abutment. The hexagonal post functions to align the abutment initially, and the Morse tapering of the walls function to secure the abutment to the implant, thereby preventing the prosthesis from twisting during normal use. In an alternative embodiment, the post within the implant is provided as a separate piece which fits snuggly within the implant.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dental implant system made in accordance with the present invention anchored in a lower jaw bone;
FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the dental implant of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the dental implant of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the abutment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a first alternative embodiment of the dental implant of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a first alternative embodiment of the abutment of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a first alternative embodiment of the dental implant system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is an exploded side view of the dental implant system of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of the dental implant of FIG. 7;
FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the adapter of FIG. 7;
FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the abutment of FIG. 7; and
FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view of a second alternative embodiment of the dental implant system of FIG. 1.